Control unit individually serving two adjacent passengers

Abstract

One passenger control unit to individually serve two adjacently seated passengers that is affixable to a seat arm disposed between the two passengers. A structural interface frame may provide facile removable attachment of the control unit to the seat arm. Each housing unit has a set of controls on opposite sides to allow individual passenger control of plural services. Only one housing, one internal printed circuit board, and one cable are required for two passengers, thus accomplishing a significant saving in weight. The passenger control unit may form a lower or an upper forward part of the seat arm.

I claim: 
     
       1. One passenger control unit to individually serve two adjacently seated passengers that is affixable to a seat arm (2) disposed between the two passengers, comprising; (a) only one housing (1), essentially symmetrical, side to side, and having two independent sets of external manual controls (4-7),   (b) guide means upon said housing and said seat arm for removably stationarily affixing said housing to said seat arm,   (c) only one electrical connector means (11), attached to said guide means,   (d) one circuit board (12) within said housing, carrying essentially all electrical elements for said two independent sets of external manual controls,   (e) only one electrical connector (14) connected to said electrical elements and connectable to said electrical connector means (11), and   (f) only one cable (10) carrying conductors for at least one passenger service connected to said electrical connector means (11) to provide independent passenger controls for each passenger for each such passenger service, and having a connection to external means to supply each said passenger service.   
     
     
       2. The passenger control unit of claim 1, in which; (a) said two independent sets of external manual controls (4-7) are disposed on opposite sides of said passenger control unit.   
     
     
       3. The passenger control unit of claim 2, which additionally includes; (a) a double acoustic jack (9) on each opposite side of said passenger control unit, subject to independent control by the independent set of external manual controls disposed upon that side of said passenger control unit.   
     
     
       4. The passenger control unit of claim 1, in which; (a) said housing (1) is a quasi-rectangular hollow parallelopiped, having an end (1') oblique to the end plane of the parallelopiped, and   (b) a single horizontally disposed said circuit board (12) that is essentially coextensive with the horizontal extent of said parallelopiped.   
     
     
       5. The passenger control unit of claim 1, in which; (a) said electrical connector means (11) is at the rear of said guide means.   
     
     
       6. The passenger control unit of claim 1, in which; (a) said passenger control unit (41) is attached to the top side of said seat arm at the forward extremity thereof, and   (b) plural of the controls of said two independent sets of external manual controls (44,45;44',45') are spaced apart on aligned horizontal shafts with only a portion of the circumferential sector of each extending out of the top of said passenger control unit.   
     
     
       7. The passenger control unit of claim 1, in which; (a) said cable (10) is of the flat ribbon type,   (b) said connector means (11) is of the spring contacts card edge type, and   (c) said circuit board (12) extends out the rear of the housing (1) and includes contacts (14) to mate with said connector means (11).   
     
     
       8. The passenger control unit of claim 1, in which; (a) a female connector (11') is attached to said circuit board (12) within said housing, and   (b) said electrical connector means attached to said guide means is a male connector means (14').   
     
     
       9. The passenger control unit of claim 1, in which said circuit board (12) includes; (a) conductors (16,16') disposed upon said circuit board and interconnected to combine the circuits connected to said electrical elements (4,4'), to thereby reduce the number of conductors required in said cable (10).   
     
     
       10. The passenger control unit of claim 1, in which said guide means includes; (a) a structural frame interface (50), having at least one longitudinal groove (51) to receive,   (b) at least one longitudinal projecting bead (52) upon said passenger control unit for fastening said passenger control unit to said frame.   
     
     
       11. The passenger control unit of claim 10, in which; (a) said longitudinal groove is interrupted to comprise plural spaced short sections of groove, and   (b) said longitudinal projecting bead is interrupted to comprise corresponding plural spaced short sections of bead to mate with said spaced short sections of groove, upon said passenger control unit being aligned with said frame and translated within said frame only a fraction of the length of said frame.   
     
     
       12. The passenger control unit of claim 1, which additionally includes means to fasten said guide means to said arm, comprising; (a) plural locking nuts (54,54') fastened to said seat arm, and   (b) plural screws respectively engaging said plural locking nuts through said guide means.